Spatula



Nov. 29, 1949 W. M. ALLEN SPATULA Filed Feb. '7, 1947 H uv l' ,nulll INVENTOR. M4414 MI /g1 444E.

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Patented Nov. 29, 1949 UNITED :orrircs it-89.600 a 'siili'runli Alien," Glendale, flhiopassighor'to flodel -Craftei slnc Hamilton, hio,a corporainvention relates to as Elsi us'd' in cooking for lifting material from a panor that even with "a spatula it is often difficult to I turn over-a fried egg or a article w braliing theyolk or tearing the edges of th H same situation obtains in removing sn s-of piefr'om atpie pan, and in othersituations.

The reason for this difficulty I believe to be due to the fact that the spatula as a whole is flexible over its entire length to the same degree whereby it is substantially impossible to make the tip of the spatula bend more sharply than the major portion thereof.

With the above considerations in mind, it is an object of my invention to provide a spatula which is relatively inflexible over its major portion but which has a highly flexible tip portion, so that the tip portion may he slid down the side of a pan and may then bend abruptly along the bottom of the pan with the major portion of the spatula remaining stiff. I have found that a spatula as outlined above greatly facilitates numerous operations performed in the kitchen, such as the frying of eggs, the removal of pies from pie pans, and the like.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a spatula as outlined above which will be extremely inexpensive to manufacture and which will be sturdy enough to withstand all normal uses to which a spatula may be put.

These and other objects of my invention, which will become apparent as the description proceeds or which will be pointed out in more detail hereinafter, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts, of which I shall now describe some exemplary embodiments.

Reference is made to the drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a spatula according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 2 showing the spatula in use.

F'Claims.

'(Cl. ill-4+1) ,2

may =be provided.

Briefly inthe-mractice of my invention, -I--pr. o-

vide a spatula having a major-portion which is;

relativelyinflexible anda tip portion which ls highly flexible. The major portion and the $19 r-twee n d alon a d n v a ve s boundary by a portion which is readily susceptible. 5

19 to transversebending.

Figure i a spatula having ahandle J ll anda shank of the blade. The blade portion iris-provided over a major portion of its length withlongitudinal corrugations [4. It will be noted that the corrugations 14 extend from adjacent the handle 20 end of the blade I2 to a transverse line spaced from the other end, as indicated at l5. Slightly spaced from the ends 15 of the corrugations I4, I provide a transverse corrugation or bead it beyond which there is the smooth or uncorrugated tip portion II. The number of corrugations M will depend upon the width of the blade, but they should substantially cover the blade from side to side in order to produce a desired degree of stiffness.

The bead or corrugation l6 may be varied somewhat as to its dimensions, but I prefer to make it in the form of a semi-circular bead having a radius on the order of g g-in- I have found that if the radius varies greatly from these dimensions, the spatula will not perform as satisfactorily. These dimensions are based upon the spatula blade being of a material of a thickness of about .010-in. If the thickness of the blade portion is changed then, of course, the radius of the head It will have to be changed.

I have found that if the bead extends downwardly, or in other words, if on the upper face of the spatula, the head is concave, the tip portion I! may be bent to a right angle in use and will snap back to its original position immediately. It is therefore desired that the spatula in use be maintained with the concave side of the bead up, as most clearly shown in Figure 4. In order to insure that the spatula be used in this manner, the handle portion H may have an offset as clearly seen in Figure 2. The blade portion of the spatula may be given various forms, such as are shown in Figures 5, 6 and '7. In Figure 5 the shape is one which would be convenient for a pie or cake server; the shape of Figure 6 would have rather general utility, while that i-Figuresai, 6 and 7. ar.e-plan views to a reduced scale of some modified shapes-inwhich'myspatula R1 f'erringno to the drawingsi have shown lfto tvhichthe blade ortion}: ofthe spatula s 4 fas:t'ened, as by spotwelding at l3. This shank-is. ribb'ed as shown and fits into a central corrugation I have found that the blade portion may conveniently be made by stamping with dies and that this can be accomplished readily on stainless steel of about .010-in. in thickness which has been spring tempered without in any way de- 1 stroying the spring temper. It would, of course, be possible to form the spatula blade and thereafter spring temper the finished. blade.

Numerous modifications may, of course, be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself otherwise than as set forth in the claims which follow. Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A spatula comprising a relatively thin piece of springy steel, said spatula having over a portion of its length a plurality of longitudinal stiffening corrugations, and an uncorrugated tip portion, said portions being joined by a transverse corrugation susceptible to transverse flexing.

2. A spatula comprising a relatively thin piece 3. A spatula comprising a relatively thin piece of springy steel, said spatula having over a portion of its length a plurality of longitudinal stiffening corrugations, and an uncorrugated tip portion, said portions being joined by a transverse corrugation having substantially the form of a half-cylinder with its concave side upwardly disposed.

. 4. A spatula comprising a relatively thin piece of springy steel, said spatula having over a portion of its length a plurality of longitudinal stiffening corrugations, and an uncorrugated tip portion, said portions being joined by a transverse corrugation having substantially the form of a of springy steel. said spatula having over a portion of its length a plurality of longitudinal stiffening corrugations, and an uncorrugated tip portion, said portions being joined by a transverse corrugation having, substantially the form of a half-cylinder.

half-cylinder with its concave side upwardly disposed, said cylinder having a radius on the order of 3inch.

5. A spatula comprising a piece of springy steel of a thickness on the order of .010 inch, said spatula having over a portion of its length a plurality of longitudinal stifiening corrugations, and an uncorrugated tip portion, said portions being joined by a transverse corrugation having substantially the form of a half-cylinder with its concave side upwardly disposed, said cylinder having a radius on the order of inch.

WILLIAM MERRILL ALLEN.

REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date ll 1,723,507 Haertter Aug. 6, 1929 2,015,358 Brokvist Sept. 24, 1935 2,134,807 Winger Nov. 1, 1938 

